Taj-Ures
The Taj-Ures was a huge region encompassing all the lands between the borders of Folyavuld, Mirkwood forest, and the territory of Dor Rhûnen. To those of Rhûn's inhabitants who knew the Taj-Ures, it was generally considered an obstacle between the Inland Sea and the vibrant markets of the west.Its vast rolling plains, solitary stood of trees, and widely separated settlements made it a land that most Folyavulda merchants considered barren and largely without value.Likewise, the citizens of Armanareiksbaurg regarded the wind-swept lands to their northwest with an eye of caution. History had taught both these peoples that the inhabitants of the wide plains, whether of Sagath, Asdriag, or even Northman descent, might just as easily be friend or enemy, depending on a delicate balance of power that few outsiders understood.The horrible effects of the Plague had lent an air of desperation to an already unsteady region, making travel across any part of the Taj Ures a dangerous business.In the north, most of the travel across the Taj-Ures had traditionally been in the form of trade caravans and groups of river-craft carrying goods between the trade centers of Folyavuld and the Northman settlements around the Long Lake and the East Bight. In T.A. 1640, however, Londaroth was a deserted ruin and Esgaroth was only just recovering from nearly sharing the same fate. What few Northmen remained in what once constituted the commercial heart of Vidugavia's realm had now focused on rebuilding their homes. Even if there was a demand for Folyavulda trade goods, the merchants of Dorwinion no longer possessed the means to deliver their wares to market. The few river vessels still capable of making the voyage were more commonly loaded with the bodies of Plague victims to be taken to mass burial sites outside Szrel-Kain and Riavod, as people worked to reclaim what were once elegant cities from the stinking nightmare of the past several years.Communication in the northern Taj-Ures had also been severed by the Sagath occupation of Ilanin, a major tradecenter in western Folyavuld that commanded the confluence of the Donu and Fola Salenin rivers. The Tros Sagath warlord who now ruled the town commanded a hefty toll from anyone attempting to pass the outpost, stifling all early attempts at reopening the once profitable trade channels between Dorwinion and the Northmen. Just forty miles northwest of Ilanin was the largest settlement of the powerful Alcisfrionds tribe of the Ehwathrumi Northmen, Marhungbaurg. The Alcisfrionds were sworn enemies of the Sagath, and though both peoples had been decimated by the Plague, the feud between them had recently rekindled and much of the land between the Donu and Aizadraka rivers was very dangerous for travelers.The open lands southwest of the Dobok Bron (the highlands defining Folyavuld's western border) had been the domain of wandering bands of men since the War of the Last Alliance. Though the development of Dor Rhûnen and the construction of the trade roads connecting Rhûn with Gondor forced the nomads of the region to the corners of this land,the Plague had once again made it the domain of wandering folk. For though Vidugavia and his successors were able to hold the diverse Northman cultures of Rhovanion together for many years, the death of commerce along the trade roads meant the end of caravan guarding as a profitable enterprise.Left to exist off the land, the tribes of the southern Taj-Ures had returned to the pastoral ways of old. The memory of Vidugavia's domain was no longer enough to hold the loyalties of the tattered remains of the Ehwathrumi tribes. The Northmen again feuded amongst themselves over territorial rights. Some had even made alliances with nomad Easterlings to oppose their kin. In fact, politics on the plains of southern Rhovanion in T.A. 1640 more resembled the chaos prior to T.A. 1248 than it did anytime since.Of old, the strength of Dor Rhûnen acted as a counterweight to the forces that threatened to plunge the Taj-Ures back into the turmoil of the pre-Vidugavia period. Since the Kin-strife,however, the power of Gondor had been on the wane. The most recent devastation that the Plague wreaked on the South Kingdom had left the Cáno of Dor Rhûnen impotent to hold together the alliances that made the trade roads secure(see also the entry for Dor Rhûnen). As the strength of Dor Rhûnen retreated behind the walls of it's far flung citadels, the Taj-Ures had again become a barrier between the peoples of Rhûn and the civilizing influence of Gondor that had for so many years kept the shadow at bay. Now the kingdoms of the Inland Sea would be forced to stand alone against the shadow,or else fall under the influence of the Black Land. References *MERP:the Inland Sea by Mike Campbell, Luke Potter and Justin Morgan-Davies Category:Region Category:Plain Category:Desert Category:Rhûn Category:Easterlings